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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25561039">You Taught Me the Courage of Stars Before You Left</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/imagine_asagao/pseuds/AnotherFan'>AnotherFan (imagine_asagao)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Wolf 359 (Radio)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Domestic Fluff, F/M, Gen, Pre-Canon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 12:15:44</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,530</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25561039</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/imagine_asagao/pseuds/AnotherFan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>(title from Saturn by Sleeping At Last)<br/>Renee Minkowski and Dominik Koudelka knew that at that moment, children were out of the question.  They traveled around for their jobs too much, and they both worked odd hours that were not conducive to raising a child.  But that doesn't mean they can't help their neighbor who's a single mother take care of her child.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dominik Koudelka/Renée Minkowski</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>19</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>You Taught Me the Courage of Stars Before You Left</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This all started because I was cosplaying Dom and had nail polish that wasn't picked up by the camera on my fingernails.<br/>MAJOR Wolf 359 spoilers<br/>I wrote this in a day and didn't edit it, but it's still pretty decent</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Renee Minkowski and Dominik Koudelka knew that at that moment, children were out of the question.  They traveled around for their jobs too much, and they both worked odd hours that were not conducive to raising a child.  There was also the question of what the child’s last name would be.  When they got married, neither took the other’s last name because their last name meant too much to them and had too much history.  Would their children’s name be Koudelka-Minkowski?  Minkowski-Koudelka?  Would their child’s peers know how to pronounce it?  Would the teachers try to shorten their last name without the child’s permission?  When they got older and had to apply for driver’s licenses and credit cards, would their last name be spelled correctly or would a part of it be left off?</p><p>All in all, not having kids was a better choice.  At least for now.</p><p> </p><p>When Dom got his job at <em> The Times </em>, they moved to Washington.  Renee was assigned to teach at the flight school, so they moved into a small apartment.  They made a reasonable amount combined.  Still, the apartment wasn’t great.  It was small and the walls were thin.  The first night, they heard a child crying.  A few days later, Dom was returning home from the office when he noticed a mother with a child trying to carry groceries.</p><p>“Let me help,” he offered, putting his keys back in his pocket.</p><p>“Thank you so much,” the woman said, handing him a bag. “I finally got a chance to go to the store, but Anne was being really fussy today.”</p><p>“It’s no problem, I live right here anyways,” he said.</p><p>“Oh!  You’re our new neighbors!  I’m Kate, and this is my daughter Anne,” she said, nodding to the child she carried on her hip.</p><p>“Nice to meet you, Kate, I’m Dominik, but just call me Dom.  My wife’s name is Renee.  And hello to you, Anne,” Dom said.</p><p>“Oh, um, Anne’s deaf,” Kate said.</p><p>“Okay, I learned some sign language for my job,” he said.</p><p>“What’s your job?”</p><p>“I’m a journalist.  I interviewed someone who was deaf and wanted to speak without an interpreter.  I also just really like learning languages.”</p><p>“Do you know any babysitters who know sign language?  I can’t find any.”</p><p> </p><p>That night, Dom and Renee had a discussion about babysitting Anne.  They reached the conclusion pretty quickly that they would babysit her, and they would do it for free.  After that was the discussion of what fun activities they could do with her, and teaching Renee basic sign language so she could also say hi to Anne.</p><p> </p><p>The next day, they knocked on Kate’s door.  She answered with Anne trailing behind her.  “Oh, hi!  You must be Renee.  I’m Kate.”</p><p>“Hi Kate.  We just came over here to offer to look after Anne whenever you need it,” Renee said.</p><p>“You don’t have to do that, I just need to find a babysitter.”</p><p>“No, we want to.  Between our schedules, one of us is almost always home, and I know sign language, and I can teach Renee.”</p><p>Anne hid behind her mother, cautious but curious, wanting to see who these people were.  When she saw Dom, she gave him a small wave.  He smiled and waved back before kneeling so she could see better.  “Hello, Anne,” he signed. “This is my wife.  Her name is Renee.”</p><p>Renee knelt down next to him and greeted Anne who slowly emerged from behind Kate’s legs.  “She likes you.  She’s been so scared of people since her dad… since the accident.  I guess this is a sign that you should be the ones to watch her,” Kate said. “Would you prefer to watch her in our apartment or yours?”</p><p> </p><p>Looking after Anne soon became the highlight of their weeks.  She was so bright and interested in learning.  Slowly, Renee and Dom began to learn more about her and Kate.</p><p>The first thing they learned was that Anne likes to paint nails.  It was one of the rare moments where both Renee and Dom were home.  After lunch, Anne brought some nail polish over to them.  “Do you want me to paint your nails?” Renee signed.</p><p>Anne shook her head.  “I want to paint yours,” she signed.</p><p>“I already have nail polish on,” Renee explained.  Anne looked confused and grabbed Renee’s hand to look at her nails.</p><p>“But your nails aren’t colorful,” she signed.</p><p>“Colorful nail polish chips too fast for it to stay looking professional.  I use clear nail polish so I don’t bite my nails,” Renee signed.  Anne frowned, upset.</p><p>“You can paint my nails if you want,” Dom signed.  This instantly cheered her up.</p><p>“Do you want hot chocolate?” Renee signed to Anne.  She nodded vigorously as she opened the nail polish bottle.  “Do you want coffee?” she signed to Dom, who also nodded, but less vigorously.  She stood up to head to the kitchen.  While the coffee brewed and the milk heated up, she glanced over at them.  They were both smiling as Anne painted Dom’s nails a fun shade of light blue.  This was the good life.  The coffee finished brewing, so she went back to getting that ready for them.</p><p> </p><p>The next thing they learned was that Kate was never married, and Anne’s father was out of the picture.  Renee and Dom invited the two of them out to dinner to celebrate Kate getting a promotion at work.  Anne colored while they waited for their food while the adults talked amongst themselves.  “We only moved in a few weeks before you,” Kate mentioned.</p><p>“Where did you move from?” Renee asked.</p><p>“Texas.  That’s where I met my ex,” she explained.</p><p>“I’m assuming your ex is no longer in the picture?” Dom asked.</p><p>“No.  For a while, it was really promising, but then it quickly turned.  It happened around the same time I learned I was pregnant.  We separated, but he still wanted to be involved.  He really did try for Anne, but he had a bad day, and…  all that progress, gone.”</p><p>“That must’ve been really difficult for you,” said Renee.</p><p>“Yeah.  Anyways, how did you move here?” asked Kate.</p><p>“We’ve traveled and moved a lot, which is basically a requirement of our jobs.  We actually met in Paris, even though we’re both from Poland and spent a large part of our childhood in the US.  I got a position at <em> The Times </em> so we moved here,” Dom explained.</p><p> </p><p>After that, they learned that Anne loved space.  Renee was watching her one evening, and they were by the window when she asked “Where are the stars?”</p><p>“There are too many lights on here to see the stars,” Renee explained.</p><p>“Then let’s turn the lights off!”</p><p>“It’s not just our lights.  It’s everyone’s lights.”</p><p>“Oh.  In our old house we could see the stars.”</p><p>“Maybe we can talk your mom into going on a stargazing trip.”</p><p>“Yes!  I love the stars.”</p><p>“So do I.  One day, I hope to be among them.”</p><p>“How?”</p><p>“I studied how to fly, and I applied to an astronaut program.”</p><p>“Did you get in?”</p><p>“No, unfortunately.  I tried five times.”</p><p>“Try a sixth!”</p><p>“I don’t know why a sixth time would be different.”</p><p>“Because you have me!”</p><p>“Oh?”</p><p>“I’m going to study space.  I can teach you so they’ll be impressed by your knowledge of space.”</p><p>“Thank you for your offer.  Do you have any books on space?”</p><p>“No.”</p><p>“Tomorrow we’ll go to the library together and pick some out.”</p><p>“And you’ll read them to me?”</p><p>“And I’ll read them to you.”</p><p> </p><p>It took almost a year for them to learn what happened to Anne’s father.  Dom and Renee never really planned to learn about what happened to him.  They learned about him one night after putting Anne to bed.  “I’m sorry I don’t have any wine to offer you, but I stopped having any alcohol at all in the house after Anne’s father…”</p><p>“It’s okay, if we really wanted some, we could get some from our apartment,” Dom assured her.</p><p>“I just sometimes still feel so angry at him!  If only he had <em> thought </em> about the consequences of his actions!” Kate snapped.</p><p>“Do you want to talk about it?  It’s fine if you don’t want to, but I also want you to have that option,” Renee said.</p><p>“I suppose I haven’t actually told anyone about it other than for the report...”</p><p>“Then it may do you some good.”</p><p>“Yeah…  So as you know, Anne’s dad and I didn’t have a good relationship when Anne was born, but he did his best for her.  He was an alcoholic, but he sobered up for Anne.  I was so proud of him for that.  It just made what happened hurt even more, to see him fall after getting a glimpse of what he could become.  He had a bad day, so he drank.  According to him, he knew he wouldn’t have any kind of custody of Anne because of this relapse - he had been seeing her every other day, like I said, he was really trying - anyways, because of his relapse, he took dramatic action.  If it was just a relapse, we could’ve worked something out.  He was trying so hard for Anne, I didn’t want to take that away just because of a bad day.  But he got it into his head that he could never see Anne, so… one night, in the middle of the night, he broke into our house.  He broke into our house, and he took her in the middle of the night.  He didn’t even make it to the freeway.  He was drunk, and got into an accident.  That accident gave Anne cranial trauma and is why she’s now deaf.  He was the only one to walk away fine.  He was just so… so selfish!  Everything would be fine if he hadn’t tried to kidnap Anne.  When the ambulance arrived, he was holding her.  He told everything to the paramedics.  They called me, and I raced to the hospital, and I was able to stay with her.  That was the last time he saw Anne.  He went to jail.  Apparently some company offered him a job and full release.  They paid for the hospital trip, and for hearing aids for Anne.  I haven’t heard from him since.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p> </p><p>Anne and Renee were looking at pictures of black holes when they got the phone call.  Renee was explaining her father’s work when the phone rang.  It wasn’t a number Renee recognized, so she ignored it.  The number kept calling.  They kept calling.  No matter how many times she ignored the number, they kept calling.  Eventually she answered it.  “Hello?” she asked.</p><p>“Lieutenant Renee Minkowski?” the person asked.</p><p>“Yes, that’s me,” she said.</p><p>“I’m with Goddard Futuristics, and we would like to offer you a job interview.”</p><p>“But I just sent in that application.”</p><p>“We know, but we would like to offer you a job interview.”</p><p>“Um, yes!  Please.  Where will this interview be, and when?”</p><p>“We’re in Cape Canaveral, we’ll provide a ticket for you.  Does tomorrow work?”</p><p> </p><p>Renee didn’t know how she would tell Dominik this.  She didn’t know how she would tell Anne this.  This was what she had always wanted, and she couldn’t give up on her dream now, when she was so close to achieving it.  The worst part was that she knew they would both understand.  She sighed and looked out the window as the plane grew closer and closer to the DC airport. </p><p> </p><p>“What do you mean you took the job?” Dom asked. “I thought we would talk about this.”</p><p>“I know, that’s what I thought, too,” Renee said. “But Mr. Cutter said I had to choose right then, and he offered to increase your salary too, and this was what I’ve always-”</p><p>“What you’ve always dreamed of doing, I know,” Dom nodded. “I knew as soon as you got the job interview that you would leave, but I had hoped to discuss it before it was finalized.  I wouldn’t have stopped you.  This is the closest you’ve gotten to your dream, and now you have the chance to achieve it.”</p><p>“Thank you for being so understanding.”</p><p> </p><p>Explaining to Anne was a little harder for Renee.  “I’m going to space,” she signed.</p><p>“Yay!  Can I come with you?” Anne asked.</p><p>“Unfortunately not yet.  When you get older, maybe you can join me up there.”</p><p>“I will!  I’ll learn and study and fly, and I won’t give up!  You don’t get to go to space without me!”</p><p>“I know.  I can’t wait to see you up there with me.”</p><p>“Promise we can go to space together?”</p><p>“I promise.”</p><p> </p><p>Dom, Anne, and Kate all went with Renee to the airport.</p><p>“Take care,” Kate said, hugging Renee.</p><p>“You too,” said Renee.  She knelt down to hug Anne, holding her tight.  “Be good for your mom, okay?  I can’t wait for you to join me in space,” she signed.</p><p>“Leave some discoveries for me,” Anne signed back.</p><p>Renee stood up and faced Dom.</p><p>“If I try to give you a heartfelt goodbye, I <em> will </em> cry,” he warned her.</p><p>“The great Dominik Koudelka, crying?  Tell <em> The Times </em> and <em> The Globe </em>,” Renee joked, trying her best to smile but failing.  He put a hand on her cheek.</p><p>“Be safe,” he said before kissing her.  “And hurry back,” he added.</p><p>“I’ll be back before you know it.  And besides, I’m always with you,” she said.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p> </p><p>The call came too soon.  Dom and Renee talked almost everyday during training.  He watched the launch live.  Everything seemed okay.  But just a few days later, he got a call.  “Hello?” he said.</p><p>“Dominik Koudelka?” the person asked.</p><p>“That’s me,” he said.</p><p>“We regret to inform you that an accident occurred on the Hephaestus mission on their way to Wolf 359.  There was an explosion.  Everyone on the crew, including Renee Minkowski, is dead.”</p><p>The phone clattered to the floor, Dom following it.  She… She was <em> gone </em>.  She would never return from her space exploration, never get a chance to talk about her experience as an astronaut, never smile at him when Anne ran out into the rain.  She got her dream job and lost her life in the process.  And Dominik lost his best friend and partner.</p><p> </p><p>He didn’t know how he would explain it to Anne.  He told Kate but asked her to let him to tell Anne.  So one evening, he headed over to their apartment.  “Hello, Anne.  I have something to tell you,” he signed.</p><p>“Hi Dom!  What is it?”</p><p>He took a moment to steady himself.</p><p>“Renee won’t be coming back.  Something went wrong during the mission, and they lost her.”</p><p>“When I go to space, I can find her and bring her home.”</p><p>“No, Anne.  Renee can’t be found.  The space shuttle exploded.  Renee can’t return home.  She’s dead.”</p><p>“No, she can’t be, she promised that we would go to space together.”</p><p>“I’m so sorry.”</p><p>“She’s really gone?”</p><p>“Renee is gone.  But we can carry her in our hearts."</p><p>"I'm going to become an astronaut and learn astrophysics for her."</p><p>"She would love that."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Here you go, Kat (thanks to the whole Wolf 359 discord for their encouragement)<br/>I'm probably going to add a during canon and post canon part, but for now, it's just pre-canon</p></blockquote></div></div>
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